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Latest News from Connecting Families

Latest News from Connecting Families:

Paula Bromley, our Service Manager at Connecting Families was asked this April to be a 'Guest Blogger' on B&NES Intranet page. Here is what Paula had to say...

For the last year the Connecting Families team has had support from the Department for Working Pensions (DWP) to help us get people back into work, and this week I met with David Keogh from the DWP to review the work that has been done. It was fantastic to see that this support has helped us get 25 people back into work, many of whom were a long way from the work front when we first contacted them. The DWP will be continuing to support the team so I look forward to more success and seeing more people having the confidence and stability to start working.

I also met with the local group Bath Welcomes Refugees this week to set up a partnership in providing ongoing support to the Syrian families who have come to live here as part of the government refugee resettlement programme, and to support those who settle here in the future. These families have been through the toughest of times so it’s great to see members of the community getting involved to help them feel at home.

The government’s Troubled Families programme is now entering its fourth year and we have a target from 2015 until 2020 to engage with a further 710 families facing difficulties that we need to support. It is a challenge but one that is extremely important - the programme works with families facing all sorts of issues, such as crime, poor school attendance, unemployment and domestic abuse. I was really proud to report to the government that since the programme started the team has turned around the lives of 246 families and has been working intensively with 66 families since April last year.

We are compiling action plans for families, following family assessments, that are focused on what the family needs to keep their children safe and achieving their full potential. We always endeavour to make sure that children and young people get their voices heard throughout our work.